Gas meter



March 6, 1934. H. J. WADDELL GAS METER Filed Sept. 19, 1928 Patented Mar. 6, 1934 Uiii S''ATES rarest FEQ GAS METER a corporation of Ohio Application September 19, 1928, Serial No. 306,969

2 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in gas meters and has particular reference to gas meters of the so-called iron case type which are utilized for the purpose of registering gas 5 now through associated conduits. Meters of this type employ diaphragms, which are situated within the meter casings to separate gas receiving chambers, the gas in owing through the meter being successively admitted into said l chambers so as to effect reciprocatory or pulsating movement on the part of thediaphragms, this movement being in turn utilized to effect the operation of the main distributing valve and also for the purpose of operating the registering l or index mechanism. These diaphragms are formed to include exible leather sections and to insure proper operation on the part of said diaphragms it is necessary to maintain the flexi- -ble leather section thereof in a relatively soft,

2o pliable and flexible condition. This can be done, rst, through the natural oil contained in the leather and, second, by applying oil or other similar materials to the leather to maintain the desired freely flexible condition thereof. It will be apparent that as the diaphragms pulsate back and forth the movement is eected or permitted by reason of the exible character of the leather sections. This results, however, in imparting considerable stress or strain to said leather secltions so that unless the latter are frequently serviced they are quite apt to become dry so that cracks or perforations develop therein which destroy the successful operation of a meter inasmuch as they permit of the uncontrolled passage of gas from one side or" the diaphragm to the other.

This condition has been particularly noticeable in recent years for the reason that it is now customary on the part of natural and artificial lo gas distributing companies to strip or deprive the natural gas of its gasoline content and other substantial light oils with the result that when the gas reaches the registering meters it is in a customary dry condition so that instead of a5 increasing or adding oil or liquid to the leather ,sections of the diaphragm a reverse condition obtains, namely, the dry gas tends to remove the liquid or oil in the leather section of the diaphragm so that premature hardening and disintegration of the leather sections of such diaphragms takes place. Due to this condition it has been customary on the part of certain gas companies to introduce quantities of liquid oil from time to time into the cases of their meters to preserve the full eiciency of the leather parts of the diaphragms. This practice, however, is not satisfactory for the reason that the meters areirequently overlooked or are inaccessibly positioned with the result that they vare not serv- Y iced with oil in a proper manner and frequently G0 not at all. It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide an iron case type of meter in which oil may be placed at its point of manufacture so that when such meters are sold and distributed they will require no further attention, at least, not until after an extended period of time, in the matter of inserting oil therein to preserve the leather of the diaphragms.

It is another object of the invention to provide Ic an oil containing meter of this type with means for preventing the uncontrolled escape of the oil from the chamber of the meter in which it is received, and to accomplish this in such manner that the oil will not be lost when the meter is i5 Asubjected to the rough handling and various positions of deposit during shipment or other transportation.

, For a further understanding of the invention reference is to be had to the following descrip- 8f. tion and the accompanying drawing wherein:

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view taken through a meter formed in accordance with the present invention,

Figure 2 is a transverse sectional View taken 85 through said meter.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, the numeral 1 designates a circular body of the housing of a meter constructed in accordance with the present invention. The body usually 90. is of circular formation and is provided with flat opposite sides 2, adapted for the reception of the removable cover members 3 which are suitably secured to said sides.

Adapted to be clamped between the sides 2 and 95 the cover member 3 are diaphragms ll, which may be of any suitable construction. In this instance each diaphragm comprises an outer metallic ring or gasket member 5 which terminates in an inturned flange 6 arranged within the body 1. i90 To this flange 6 there is secured the outer circumferential portion or leather section 7 of the iaphragm, the inner portion of said section being secured suitably to an inturned flange 8 provided upon the outer peripheral portion of a metallic disc member 9. By this construction the lower part ci the meter is divided to include gas receiving chambers A, B and C.

Above the chambers A, B and C the body 1 includes an index tower 10 which includes gas 11o' inlet and outlet conduits 11 and 12 respectively. The gas is permitted to flow by way of the conduit 11 into the internal compartment D of the tower 10. Arranged within this tower is a main control Valve 13, usually in the form of a glass disc. This disc engages iiatly with a distributing spider 14, which provides separate passages 15, 16 and 17 which lead from the compartment D to the chambers A, B and C respectively and also to the outlet conduit 12, the latter passage being indicated by the numeral 18. Connected with the diaphragm are the usual yokes 19, which are adapted to be oscillated by the pulsating movement of said diaphragms. The oscillation of these yokes, through the medium of suitable linkage (not shown) is employed to effect as usual the rotation of the main control valve 13 and the operation of the index or registering mechanism (not shown).

In operation, at the time of manufacture of the meter, and upon the assembly of its component parts, a suitable quantity of oil, indicated at 21, is placed in the bottom of the compartment B for the purpose of maintaining the leather sections -7 of the diaphragm in a soft, pliable and iiexible condition best adapted for eiiicient operation. It will be observed that the oil is securely confined within the compartment B and is prevented from escape during rough handling or j ostling of the meter, during shipment and transportation, by forming the passage 16, which is the only passage entering the compartment B, with an extending and depending tube 22. This tube is provided with a closed lower end 23, but with y opposed openings 24 in the side walls thereof immediately adjacent to the end 23. The tube 22 is located centrally within the compartment B, midway between the diaphragms 4 and in such a position as to avoid contact with or other interference in the operation of said diaphragms. It will be seen that by the inclusion of the tube 22 the meters may be inverted without loss of oil from the compartment B, or the meters may be placed on their sides without loss of oil through the passage 16. In this manner the oil is securely retained in the meter and accidental loss is precluded. But a relatively small quantity of the liquid oil may be used, since the absorption is reduced to a minimum by the enclosed case. In this manner the invention provides a meter so constructed as to admit of the maintenance of the leather sections of its diaphragms in a soft, flexible condition capable of imparting extended service without repair or replacement.

What is claimed is:

1. In a gas flow registering meter, a casing having a diaphragm chamber, a pair of spaced diaphragms including iiexible leather sections arranged Within said chamber, said casing between said diaphragms being adapted to contain a quantity of liquid oil, a gas receiving reservoir formed in said casing above said diaphragms, there being a passageway leading from said reservoir to the diaphragm chamber formed between said diaphragms to allow a free iiow of gas to and from said chamber, and means provided in connection withwsaid passage to prevent the uncontrolled escape of oil therethrough.

2. In a gas meter, a casing formed to include spaced gas receiving and measuring chambers, there being a valve controlled passage uniting said chambers, a pair of spaced diaphragms arranged on opposite sides of said measuring chamber, said measuring chamber being adapted to receive a suitable quantity of liquid oil, a depending open sided tube having a closed lower end arranged to project into said measuring chamber and communicating with the passage established in communication between the receiving and measuring chambers to allow a free iow of gas, and means actuated by the movement of said diaphragms for controlling gas iiow through said passageway.

HOMER J. WADDELL.

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